5th yearThe Dance
by marjojo
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione dance with destiny--fun romantic fluff! Now complete!!
1. Asking Cho

"There she is!" Harry thought. He'd had a single thought in his mind from the moment he'd first heard about the Halloween dance: Cho Chang. "This time," he told himself, "I'll be the first one to ask her." Cho had just turned the corner to go into the Dining Hall. She walked to lunch alone most days, Harry had noticed, and so he'd planned to catch her at this moment.  
  
"Hi!" Harry said brightly, tapping her on the arm to catch her attention.  
  
"Oh, hi, Harry," she replied, a bit far-off and distracted.  
  
Harry's fumbling attempt at asking Cho last year came to mind and he was determined not to repeat the performance. "So, um, I was wondering, would you like to go to the Halloween Dance with me?" He'd got the words out, and they'd been coherent!  
  
Cho seemed taken aback, like Harry's words had pulled her down to reality with a hard landing. Then she blinked, and appeared to become a little more present than she'd been a moment ago. She stood there an agonizingly long time and Harry was about to repeat himself when she agreed with a sigh, giving him a weak smile.  
  
Harry heard nothing but her acceptance; he paid no attention to the sigh or the resigned tone. He thought his face would break with smiling. "Thanks!" he said, shaking her hand, since he didn't know what else to do, and he excitedly ran off to tell Ron.  
  
a/n: it gets better, guys, I promise! Please keep reading! 


	2. Wizard's Chess

In his exuberance, Harry challenged Ron to a game of wizard's chess, figuring that if he was ever going to beat Ron, who was the far superior player, today would be the day.  
  
He seemed to be right: from the first moves of the game, Harry was ahead. But it wasn't because of any great skill of his own; it was because Ron was constantly distracted by a conversation going on at the other end of the Common Room. A crowd of other fifth-years, including Hermione Granger, Gryffindor's newest prefect, was gathered near the fireplace, and they seemed to be discussing the Dance. Harry was on the brink of telling Ron they could put the game on hold so he could go over and satisfy his curiosity, when Hermione suddenly came over to talk to them.  
  
"Seamus just asked me to the Dance." she said abruptly.  
  
Harry wasn't sure how to respond and Ron was currently refusing to look away from the chessboard. "Um, that's nice, Hermione," Harry finally said.  
  
She sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't say yes!"  
  
"Huh?" Harry was thoroughly confused. Ron looked up, absentmindedly moving his knight into check.  
  
Hermione looked very uncomfortable. "I told him I'd think about it and get back to him. I thought I'd come over here and give Ron a chance to ask me before it's too late, seeing as he threw a fit last year when I went with Viktor." Her cheeks were red.  
  
Ron also blushed. He sputtered nonsensically, "What, so you can just come over here-and I'm supposed to-just because-last year!-do you think I haven't-"  
  
Hermione, already embarrassed, snapped back at him, speaking over his disconnected phrases, "You're not supposed to do anything you don't want to do, but if you don't ask me now then I don't want to hear anything else about it and you'd better just grin and watch me go with Seamus-"  
  
"Stop it!" Harry looked up from the chessboard and interrupted them both, causing them to look at him in shock. "Now, Ron." he said, turning to his best friend. "Do you want to go to the Dance with Hermione? That's all she's asking." Hermione, peeved, started to protest, but Harry silenced her with a pleading look.  
  
Ron looked back down at the chessboard, where he quickly made a move, as if to prove how little any of this mattered to him, but without noticing that Harry's knight had threateningly drawn its sword on his king. "Dunno."  
  
Harry sighed. "Well, I know you don't have another date yet. Is there anyone else you'd especially like to go with?"  
  
Ron was a long time in responding. Harry knew he was trying desperately to think of any other girl who might agree to go with him. Ron finally sighed and said, "Guess not."  
  
"So, Ron, it seems to me that all Hermione is asking is that either the two of you go together-"  
  
"I did not-" Hermione said angrily.  
  
"But-" Ron said.  
  
Harry went on, speaking over them both. "Or, at the least, that you do not repeat last year's performance. Now, Ron, I think that if you let this opportunity go by, then you are sure to make all three of our lives a living hell. And I am looking forward to this dance too much for you two to spoil it fighting. So, Hermione," Harry turned to her, "the only remaining question is whether you would like to go with Ron."  
  
Both the boys looked intently at the very red-faced Hermione, who was now the one sputtering. "But-I didn't mean-he-" She sighed, exasperated, and finally gritted her teeth and said with forced dignity, "If it's the only way to make him behave." and turned abruptly on her heel.  
  
Harry made his final move on the chessboard and smiled at Ron, who was still staring after Hermione, completely dumbfounded. "Checkmate!" he said triumphantly. 


	3. Awkward Beginnings

I forgot the disclaimer on the first 2 chapters, hope I don't get struck by lightning! Here it is: Disclaimer: Yeah right, I only wish I was J. K. and this was all mine. In my dreams.  
  
  
  
Hermione was late coming down to the Common Room to meet Ron and Harry for the Dance. They'd planned to walk together to meet Cho in the Great Hall. Harry sprawled in a chair, feeling surprisingly relaxed, while Ron paced the room's length with one nervous eye on the clock. Every once in a while he said something to Harry along the lines of, "Reckon she decided to add a few more inches to her Potions homework?" or "Think she might have started studying for final exams instead?" He had just turned toward Harry with another one of these anxious queries when Hermione finally came down from the girls' dormitories.  
  
She'd swept her long hair up in a complicated-looking twist, and having it pulled back drew attention to her sparkling eyes and long lashes. Her dress showed much more of her figure than everyday robes; the boys hadn't known she was shaped like that. It was the first time all year Harry had seen her without her prefect badge; he supposed it didn't match the dress. She approached her two best friends shyly.  
  
"You look great, Hermione!" said Harry, standing up.  
  
"Thanks, Harry," she replied with a smile, turning a bit expectantly to Ron.  
  
Ron just looked at her, completely frozen, with an expression on his face that was at once shocked and dreamlike. Almost a full minute of it seemed to make Hermione uncomfortable, and she sent a panicked look to Harry, who poked Ron in the back. He halfway snapped out of it, saying distractedly, "Right, well, um, look nice, Hermione." and then going immediately to the other extreme: refusing to look at her.  
  
"He's utterly hopeless," Harry thought. "Whoa, look at the time, hope I'm not late meeting Cho because of you two, better get going." Harry said briskly, walking toward the door and discreetly indicating to Ron that he should offer Hermione his arm, which he did, stiffly, still without looking at her, almost without breathing.  
  
Harry, smiling, opened the door for the couple and then hung back in the hall to give them privacy, even though they didn't seem to be saying much. And, though he was trying to be unobtrusive, Harry couldn't quite fully stifle his laugh when he heard Ron finally break the awkward silence by asking Hermione, "So, um, read any good books lately?" 


	4. Married, with Children

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. But on June 21, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be!!!!  
  
"There she is!" Harry thought. Cho was waiting for Harry outside the door of the Great Hall. She looked like the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. Her black hair was piled on top of her head, showing off her swanlike neck, and the rich color of her dress made her skin seem to glow. Harry walked up to her, grinned broadly, and held out his arm for her, which she accepted, with a small forced smile.  
  
A bit ahead of Harry and Cho, Hermione was trying to convince Ron to read some book, and they were both trying to ignore the fact that they were walking arm in arm. But the conversation felt normal and relaxed them; Ron was now able to look at her without gaping. However, their ease was short- lived. As soon as the two couples walked into the Dance, they were accosted by Fred and George Weasley, Ron's twin brothers.  
  
"We just heard!"  
  
"-sent on a rumor confirmation mission-"  
  
"Are you two really here together?" Fred demanded of Ron and Hermione.  
  
"Umm, yeah." Ron muttered, but he swiftly dropped Hermione's arm.  
  
The twins immediately sprang to action. George energetically shook Ron's hand, congratulating him, while Fred took Hermione's hand and patted it gently, saying, "I'm so sorry!" as if she had lost a relative.  
  
George elbowed Ron in the ribs. "I sure never thought you'd find such a pretty date. How'd you con 'er into it?"  
  
"I didn't-" Ron tried to say, but was soon distracted by what Fred was telling Hermione.  
  
"-want you know that you'll always be welcome at the Burrow, even after you've dumped Ron on his sorry ass."  
  
"What!?" Ron objected, while Hermione giggled.  
  
"Oh, come on, Ron, you don't think you could keep a girl like this!" Fred draped his arm around Hermione's shoulders and indicated her face as if he was showing off a product in a commercial. "Look at her. She can do much better than this, can't you, Hermione?"  
  
She smiled, flattered. "Well."  
  
Fred interrupted her, changing gears entirely. "So when's the wedding?"  
  
In an instant Ron went from indignant to scared silly. All color disappeared from his face and he looked at Fred like he had just turned into a tarantula. "W-wedding!?" he croaked. Ron thought he'd rather be "dumped on his sorry ass."  
  
"Yes, of course wedding." George replied. "You've been dancing around it for, what?, five years now? In fact, Lee Jordan has had a betting pool going for the past three years about when you two would finally figure it out and get together."  
  
"When, not if." Fred pointed out.  
  
"What!?" Hermione's eyes blazed.  
  
"The two of us were even considering selling tickets for the post-Dance fireworks in the Common Room. It would have been a moneymaker, too; everyone remembers your row from after the Yule Ball. You woke up quite a few people." George said.  
  
"Different kind of fireworks this year, hey, Ron?" Fred nudged him and winked. Ron's white face turned bright red, and his expression was one of utter horror.  
  
The twins' rapid-fire jokes moved so quickly that Harry and Cho found themselves looking back and forth between them as if they were at a Muggle tennis match. George was already returning to the wedding idea. "-I mean why not, you know, you two should know each other well enough after five years. Percy and his girlfriend are engaged and they've only been together four."  
  
"Percy's not engaged." Ron corrected him, wondering where George had gotten that idea.  
  
"Right, no, he's not." George admitted. "Guess it's just that much harder for a person as exciting and adventurous as Percy to settle down. Our boring younger brother, on the other hand, might find it quite easy-"  
  
"Hey-" Ron began, offended at being compared to Percy, who found the varying thickness of cauldron bottoms a completely fascinating topic.  
  
But Hermione broke in. "We are NOT engaged." she said, frowning.  
  
"What, called it off again?" Fred looked dismayed. "Is that the third or fourth time this week? Now, George, how can you plan a party for your brother and his fiancé when they can't even decide whether they're engaged or not?"  
  
"Damned if I know, Fred." George replied. "I'm quite fed up with it myself. Party's cancelled. A shame, too. You were going to get some lovely gifts." he told them regretfully.  
  
"Mum will be very disappointed, she was so looking forward to having another prefect in the family." Fred went on.  
  
George changed tactic yet again. "Anyway, at least you two have broken the ice. That's the hard part. Now all you have to do, Ron, is buy her a ring, and before you know it, we'll have nine or ten very smart red-headed babies running around."  
  
"Or would they have auburn hair?" Fred studied the couple.  
  
"B-babies!?" Hermione squeaked, flushed.  
  
"Of course babies." George replied. "Large families are a bit of a Weasley tradition."  
  
"It's on both sides of the family, George." Fred corrected. "I don't think we have an aunt with fewer than five kids."  
  
"Five?" Hermione's eyes were wide with fear.  
  
"Or is it six, Fred?" George asked. "Quite a few sets of twins, too."  
  
"Twins!" Hermione looked panicky, imagining Fred and George at three years.  
  
Fred and George finally seemed to decide that their job was finished; their brother and his date were thoroughly freaked out. They moved on to Harry and Cho, who had amusedly watched the whole exchange, and began talking Quidditch.  
  
a/n: don't you just love Fred and George! Anyway, hope you enjoyed, more coming soon! Please review!! 


	5. Shared Dreams

Disclaimer: Harry is not mine, he belongs to J. K.  
  
  
  
"There she is!" Harry thought. He'd finally found Cho on the balcony, looking out over the Quidditch field. After they had exhausted the subject of Quidditch with the Weasley twins over dinner, they'd had two awkward dances together. Cho's stiff elbows had kept Harry strictly at arm's length and her eyes avoided his as if he was a basilisk. Then Harry had gone to get her a drink, returned to find her vanished, and had by now spent the majority of the evening looking for her. He now approached her quietly and soon realized that she'd been crying; as soon as she saw that he was there, she turned her head away and wiped her eyes. Harry hadn't the slightest idea how to deal with a crying girl, and so he just stood there in an awkward silence that he hoped was comforting and supportive.  
  
Cho suddenly spoke. "I still miss him."  
  
Harry didn't have to ask who she meant. He knew. His heart sank. "Oh," he replied dumbly, not knowing what else he might say.  
  
"I can't help feeling like he's still around, you know, like I'll turn the corner and there he'll be. Every place I go in this school it feels like he belongs there, like it's not complete without him somehow." She wiped her eyes again, looking down. "I'm not usually so broken up about it or anything," she added apologetically, with a glance out the corner of her eye toward Harry, "maybe it was the dance that brought it all back." ("Oh, sure, that makes me feel loads better," Harry thought bitterly.) "You know, I still even dream about him." She admitted, a bit embarrassed.  
  
"Me too." Harry replied.  
  
That shocked Cho into looking at him. "What? You? What kinds of dreams?" she asked, confused.  
  
"Well, in good ones, we're fighting Voldemort side by side and winning," Cho flinched at the name. Harry smiled at this idea for a moment before his voice hardened and grew bitter. "And in the bad ones he accuses me of killing him."  
  
"Killing him! But you didn't--" said Cho, astonished.  
  
This time Harry was the one avoiding eye contact. "I may as well have. It was my idea that we take the Triwizard Cup together. It was because of me that he came to the graveyard that night. I was the only one Voldemort wanted. Cedric was killed just because he was there." Harry didn't mention that his guilt also came from the jealousy and resentment he'd felt toward Cedric during his life, and that Cho herself was one of the biggest reasons for it.  
  
"Oh, Harry! I never realized.but that still doesn't mean it's your fault, you weren't the one that killed him, it was You-Know-Who! I don't blame you, his parents don't blame you, and I know Cedric wouldn't blame you! You've no reason to go on blaming yourself."  
  
He flashed her a weak smile. "I know. But I do anyway."  
  
She didn't seem to know how to respond to that, and there was a pause. Harry took a deep breath and decided to make one last feeble try at winning Cho's affections for himself. She'd given him the idea.  
  
"You know, he wouldn't want you to keep on feeling like this either." he said nervously, his tone hopeful but not wheedling.  
  
"I know. But I do anyway." Her voice was resigned, but completely decided.  
  
Harry was taken aback at having his own words thrown in his face. But then he almost laughed at their appropriateness. They were both caught in the same net-feeling what reason told them they shouldn't, bound both willingly and against their will to a dead friend.but instead of bringing them together, as it could have, it drove a wedge between them. But, strangely, the moment Harry understood what she meant, he felt different. Standing next to her was instantly no longer a source of tension, energy and excitement. She was still undeniably pretty, but he was no longer consumed by the desire to study her for hours on end. Her beauty was now something he merely noted. Harry felt his attraction to Cho die within him like the burnt-out embers of a fire, and, as he noticed this feeling, a scene came into his mind unbidden: himself, taking Cho's hand and putting it into Cedric's, saying without a trace of resentment or defeat, "She's yours, friend." This conversation with Cho could easily have simply perpetuated Harry's jealousy of a dead man and his attraction to a girl he could never truly have. But, surprisingly, it had had quite the opposite effect. Harry could not explain even to himself why it felt reasonable to him to say a quick prayer of thanks to Cedric for this mercy.  
  
These revelations were accompanied by yet another awkward silence. Cho broke it this time, with an apologetic plea: "Harry, I'm sorry, I just don't think I'm ready."  
  
Harry nodded. "Yes. I can see that. I'm sorry too." And for good-bye he kissed her on the cheek, a light, dry peck, much like he might have kissed Hermione, or even Mrs. Weasley, if given a good reason. He squeezed her hand once and gave her a crooked smile, as if to say, "No hard feelings." And "Hang in there." Then Harry turned around, leaving Cho on the balcony with her thoughts and memories, and returned to the dance.  
  
The first person he saw was Ginny Weasley.  
  
A/N: gotta love the dot dot dot! More coming soon, please review! 


	6. The Last Dance

A/N: Thanks for reviewing, especially Weasley-Gurl! Sorry this chapter is so short, more coming!  
  
Disclaimer: Harry is not mine. Don't sue me!  
  
It was now the last dance, and Ron was surprised at how good a time he'd had after all. Dinner had been a bit awkward and quiet after they'd left Fred and George, but they'd eventually started joking about it as well, and had even had a bit of fun thinking of outlandish names for their thirty- some children. And so the night had continued, both acting not much differently than they normally did. Well, it was a bit different without Harry, of course. Ron and Hermione had only seen him once since dinner finished, and it was only for a minute; he'd asked if they'd seen Cho and ran off again. "I wonder how he's doing." Ron mused.  
  
For the most part he and Hermione had stuck to the faster dances, since they both claimed to have two left feet. Ron liked it that way anyway. In the fast dances, he could just goof off and imitate other dancers and it didn't really matter how silly he looked, but the slower ones were so serious and involved so much touching.he looked at the other couples slow- dancing and either wanted to laugh or throw up. Or both.  
  
"It would figure" he thought miserably, "that the last dance would have  
  
to be slow." 


	7. Dancing with Ginny

a/n: thanks for reviewing, guys! Sorry this is so short, more coming soon! Feel free to criticize, I know this needs it!  
  
Disclaimer: Harry is not mine! I know this all too well. Don't sue.  
  
  
  
It felt like the most natural thing in the world to Harry to ask Ginny to dance.  
  
It was, after all, the last dance, and they both seemed to be alone, he reasoned. "Pretty downright obvious, really," Harry thought, meaning both the idea of dancing with Ginny and the fact that Cho had never liked him. He almost wanted to laugh at his own blindness.  
  
Even dancing with Ginny felt more right than dancing with Cho. It was easy, and fun, and comfortable, not so intimate that it was scary. She even made Harry laugh telling him how she'd lost her date. Neville, who poor Ginny had gotten herself stuck with again, ("I just didn't have the heart to tell him no!" she explained.) had somehow spilt the entire punch bowl on himself and had been attacked by the decorative, but apparently hungry, bats that flew around the ceiling and had run, screaming, back to the tower. In fact, Ginny's very ease made Harry wonder. "Didn't she have a crush on me once?" he asked himself, trying to remember. He knew he'd never been able to speak to Cho, the only girl he'd ever liked, as easily and comprehensibly as Ginny was now speaking to him. "So is she over it then?" Harry wondered, and was surprised to feel dismayed at the idea. First-year Ginny had been a bit annoying as an admirer, but now Harry somehow didn't think he'd mind so much. 


	8. Noticing Subtle Beauty

a/n: hey guys, thanks for reading, sorry it's been a few days, I just wanted to ask for suggestions to improve the story, especially this chapter and the next. They were a little hard to write, plus my beta reader never got back to me. I would appreciate it so much! Then I could post a new and improved version!  
  
  
  
"This actually isn't terrible," thought Ron, as he self-consciously led Hermione in their first slow dance. He kept thinking of things that could go wrong and concentrating on avoiding them: stepping on her feet, holding her too close, or worse, too far away, bumping heads, and worst of all, the ones he had no control over, like sweaty palms, being smelly, breathing loudly. He tried to ignore these fears, knowing it would only make him nervous; he tried to concentrate on the music, but found himself concentrating instead on Hermione. Ron was having trouble reconciling the plain know-it-all he'd once called "a nightmare" with the beautiful girl he now held in his arms. But the more he tried to pinpoint her change in appearance, the more she looked the same as he remembered. "Was she always this pretty?" he wondered. It seemed like Hermione had long been the possessor of a deep but subtle beauty, maybe so subtle that it was all too easily overlooked, and some trick of light had just shown it fully. Or perhaps Ron had only just now noticed. "I hope she's not so pretty tomorrow!" he thought worriedly. But then he smiled ruefully. "What am I thinking, of course she will be. I just hope I can ignore it!" He knew exactly how hard that would be. Maybe it was the music (it was rumored that the Weird Sisters polished their instruments with Love Potion), but Ron was finding it even harder to ignore Hermione's newfound beauty at close range. It had been easier all night when she wasn't so near, but now. he kept stealing quick glances at her, not wishing to freak her out like he had when she first came down from the girls' dormitories. And he studied other parts of her than her face, like her shoulder, that was easier to get away with. His gaze led him down her arm to where his hand held hers. "They look all right together," he thought, and for the first time since they'd touched, his hand noticed the softness in hers and his thumb ran slowly up and down her knuckle.  
  
After awhile, Hermione noticed, and looked at their hands too. Both looking at the same thing, their eyes soon met, only in the corners at first. Then they just kept looking at each other. And looking. Studying each other's eyes like they were tiny pieces of the Mirror of Erised. Ron really saw the color and shape of Hermione's eyes for the first time; from then on he could always conjure a picture of them in his mind. It was intense, and the intensity scared Ron. He finally blinked, and in the vulnerable moment after the breaking of the bond, he felt that fear for the first time. He also noticed just how close their faces had gotten and that scared him too; he very nearly panicked. He pulled his head back quickly as a gut reaction, then after a second he moved it to over her shoulder. He had to avoid those eyes. He was actually closer than before, but it felt like nothing could be quite so close as that look.  
  
a/n: thanks again for reading, please review! And don't be too nice! 


	9. Opposite Potentials

a/n: thanks for the reviews guys! Any help or suggestions on this chapter would be GREATLY appreciated; it was very hard to write and I think it's far from perfect. But anyway, enjoy!  
  
  
  
Hermione was mostly very glad and relieved that Ron had broken that stare, but she was also a bit disappointed. It reminded her of something she'd heard about secondhand from Harry (and had later read up on, of course): Priori Incantatem-the bonding of the cores of brother wands which are forced to duel. In fact, that seemed to be the only way to describe it. That gaze had been just as volatile as the bond that had united the wands of Harry and Voldemort for just long enough to save Harry's life. It held two equal and opposite possibilities. There was the obvious attraction in it, a possibility of something lasting and beautiful. But there was also the risk of losing forever not only the new attraction, but also the older, underlying friendship that gave it its substance. Even as friends, Ron and Hermione constantly had to tiptoe around each other's feelings; they were often bickering. They were passionate, emotional people who never hesitated to speak their minds, and their personalities happened to clash. What would happen if there was no mystery to solve together, no common purpose to force them to overcome their differences? And who knew how fierce their rows might become if this began? Add to that the fact that the two of them were fully capable of carrying a grudge to the grave, and it was hard to see how Harry could expect to remain friends with them both for much longer.  
  
Hermione sighed, thinking of how awful the awkwardness of the date's beginnings had been. Without Harry to mediate in making the date, they surely would have had a worse fight than last year's. And when she'd come down from the dormitory, that had been a scene. It was bound to be awkward, not in spite of the fact that they were friends, but because of it. There was the fear of messing up what they already had, the constant question of how anything they might say or do could change their friendship. That fear, much more than the fear of the intensity of their possible love or possible hate, was really what kept them apart at the moment. Fear of the uncertain future that this dance ushered in and a heartfelt wish to return to less complicated days when none of this had ever occurred to them, even unconsciously. That stare was a milestone, a perfect meeting of love and hate, past and future: a rare and strange mix, more perfectly blended than Hermione's potions. It had scared her, and that was why Hermione was glad Ron had broken the stare. But she couldn't deny that, at the same time, she had found it exciting, even the dangerous part of it, the perilous search for balance between extremes. "Maybe it's really a part of my character, and I've just been denying it to myself all this time." Hermione mused, "I crave excitement and adventure, I need people around me who keep me on my toes. Maybe that's really why I became friends with those two in the first place. They've been bringing out my wild streak more and more, and I've enjoyed every minute of it, haven't I?"  
  
But, while Hermione could admit that she liked a part of the inherent excitement of that look, she was not ready to admit to herself the way she really felt about Ron. She did not know. It was deep inside her, secret even from herself, growing within her like either the germinating seed of a flower or the first malignant cells of a tumor, so hidden that it could not cause her any pain yet, no matter whether it later became bloom or blight. Though Hermione was much more aware of the entire situation and its meaning than Ron was, she was no more self-aware that night. She could uncover a new aspect of her character and accept it, but she failed to take this revelation to its necessary conclusion: like her need for adventure, and perhaps because of it, it was a part of her very personality to love her opposite.  
  
So there were many things that Hermione was very pointedly not thinking about, as the dance went on. What she was thinking about, with a little surprise, was how well Ron had dealt with the potentially awkward moment just after he had blinked. Instead of immaturely pushing her away or saying something foolish, he had moved closer to her, only over her shoulder so he could avoid her eyes.  
  
"Well, if he can do that much, I surely can too," Hermione thought, and laid her head down on his shoulder. They fit together quite comfortably, with her temple resting on his collarbone. She liked the way his chest felt so solid and real against her face. "Not terrible at all." Hermione thought, glimpsing their clasped hands through the gap under his chin, and she smiled.  
  
a/n: next, final chapter! Please review! 


	10. Blissfully Unaware

A/N: Sorry it's been a while! Enjoy!  
  
Harry managed to push aside his slight worries about the state of Ginny's crush for the rest of the dance. She made this easy by distracting him, asking how her brother's date was going. He recounted how Ron had acted when he first saw Hermione, and Ginny giggled. But she laughed out loud, a carefree, totally un-self-conscious laugh, when he told her how Fred and George had hounded the couple. Then, of course, they both had an abundance of Fred and George tales to trade, which took up the rest of the dance. Thankfully, she did not ask about Cho. Harry felt fine about what had happened there, but he found that he suddenly didn't want Ginny to know that he'd been ditched and rejected, no matter the reason.  
  
Once, Harry thought he saw Ron and Hermione once through the crowd of couples, dancing surprisingly close. However, Ginny kept him so intent on their conversation that he realized he didn't really care to investigate further.  
  
When the music ended, though, the spell seemed to break. Immediately Harry and Ginny stepped away from each other and dropped their hands, though they kept talking. It was then that they both found it very easy to pick Ron and Hermione out from the crowd: they were the last couple to realize that the dance was over. Sharing a private laugh at the pair, Harry and Ginny started to make their way toward them. On the way, Harry saw Cho waving at him. She pointed to some of her Ravenclaw girlfriends and he understood that she meant that he didn't need to walk her to the tower, she would go with  
  
them. He nodded and smiled at her.  
  
When Harry reached Ron and Hermione, he noticed but did not mention aloud the fact that their hands were still clasped from dancing. He did, however, exchange a knowing look with Ginny, who smiled irrepressibly. On the way up to the tower Ginny recounted for Ron and Hermione what had happened to Neville. Then the two of them started telling the names they had decided on for their "litter." Harry was thankful for this, as it put off questions about Cho.  
  
These jokes continued when they reached the common room, and at the first lull in conversation long enough for someone to think of Cho, Harry quickly said goodnight, looking pointedly at Ginny to tell her to also leave and give the couple some private time. She did this, with a smile at Harry and an unexpected light touch on his arm. Going up the stairs, Harry rubbed this spot with his other hand, trying unsuccessfully to wipe away the feel of her touch.  
  
Harry hadn't even reached the top of the steps when Ron came up after him. Harry simply raised his eyebrows at him, knowing his best friend would understand the unspoken question about what had happened just now with Hermione.  
  
"Incredibly mean of you to leave us like that." Ron grumbled. "Unspeakably awkward, that was just now." But Harry was still waiting for details. Ron sighed and went on. "We just stood there, saying we had a good time...that's all we could say, really." He took a deep breath and shrugged. "And after awhile I just gave up on it and gave her a fast little hug goodnight. And then she went up to her dorms. Awkward." He concluded.  
  
"Well then, I'm sorry. I was just trying to be helpful, you know. Seemed to me like you two'd gotten over that, holding hands and all." Harry apologized, a bit disappointed, but also amused.  
  
"Well---it's different---alone like that---expecting...stuff..." Ron said stubbornly, averting his eyes and blushing furiously.  
  
"All right," Harry agreed, putting up his hands in defeat. "But what about the rest of the night?" he pressed, a bit mischievously.  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"Well, I saw you dancing pretty close." Harry went on, trying to get a good look at Ron's face.  
  
Harry had thought Ron was already about as red as he could get. He was wrong. He saw Ron's cheek absolutely blazing as he slowly, sheepishly answered. "Yeah.she kind of put her head on my shoulder...That was nice..." Harry noticed Ron's half smile, and knew for certain that he'd been right about his two best friends.  
  
"Hey, what about you and Cho?" Ron suddenly remembered. He seemed glad to be able to change the subject.  
  
Now Harry was the one embarrassed. "When I finally found her she told me she's not over Cedric."  
  
"Ouch!" Ron exclaimed sympathetically.  
  
"No, it's ok," Harry reassured him. "I don't like her anymore."  
  
Now Ron was confused. "You? Don't like---Cho Chang?"  
  
"No, I really don't." Harry laughed. "It surprised me too."  
  
"Ok, then, if you say so," Ron said doubtfully.  
  
By this time they were about ready to turn off the lights and get into bed. "Overall, though, a pretty good dance." Harry pronounced, thinking of Ginny's easy laugh and her dancing eyes.  
  
"Yeah, guess so." Ron agreed, with a crooked smile Harry couldn't see but sensed.   
  
"'Night, Ron."  
  
"'Night."  
  
And the two boys slept soundly, blissfully unaware (as boys generally are) that tonight their future had ceased to be an abstract thing far off in "Someday..."; it had suddenly become a thing that they would have to live, now, beginning less than an hour ago. Tonight, they had danced with destiny; they had twirled and spun and held the women they were meant to be with for the rest of their lives. If they had known that, they would probably have lain awake for hours, filled with doubt and worry and fear and hope and longing and a thousand other contradictory emotions. But they did not know, and so they slept. And that morning, and every morning for a long time, they woke with the fuzzy remembrance of a dream in which they did know, and were happy.  
  
  
  
a/n: Please review!! 


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